Report: Tamworth 3-0 Bolton XI

Bolton Wanderers XI tasted their first defeat of pre-season as goals in each half from Tamworth saw the young Whites fall to a 3-0 defeat at The Lamb Ground.

Jon Ceberio and Jamie Thomas missed good opportunities when unmarked inside the area in the first half, while Ceberio was denied late on by goalkeeper James Belshaw, but that was the closest Bolton came to a goal on the day as they struggled to respond after falling behind.

TEAM NEWS

Iain Brunskill made five changes to the side that drew against Stockport County in midweek having seen a number of players, including former Tamworth striker Kaiyne Woolery, involved with the first team against Scunthorpe United on Friday night.

Hayden White made his first Bolton XI appearance of pre-season while there was also a start in goal for Harry Campbell.

Elsewhere, Chris Cvetko, Tyler Garratt and George Newell also came into the starting XI.

FIRST HALF

After a slow start to the first half, Wanderers had the first chance to open the scoring as a weak Tamworth clearance fell kindly to Chris Cvetko on the edge of the area. However, his tame first-time effort was straight at goalkeeper James Belshaw.

The Whites should have taken the lead moments later as Jamie Thomas sprinted down the right-hand side before pulling the ball back to Jon Ceberio inside the area, only for the Spaniard to fire harmlessly over the crossbar.

At the other end Tamworth went close after Owain Warlow’s cross from the left found Danny Newton unmarked in the Bolton area, only for the forward’s subsequent header to drift just wide.

The Trotters were proving dangerous themselves down their own left-hand side, with Andy Kellett in particular looking particularly threatening.

A low cross from the ex-Manchester United loanee looked to have presented Ceberio with a good opportunity to open the scoring midway through the half, only for a slight deflection to diver the ball away from forward.

Wanderers were made to rue their missed half-chances as Tamworth took the lead on the half-hour following a defensive mix-up, Paul Green powerfully firing beyond Harry Campbell into the bottom corner.

The Whites looked to fight back immediately with Kellett continuing to see plenty of the ball out on the left. However, one cross just evaded George Newell inside the area while later efforts were comfortably cleared by Tamworth.

Bolton were unfortunate not equalise just before the break as a long ball forward by Kellett found Thomas unmarked in the area. However, with an awkward bounce, the forward fired wildly over the bar, ensuring the Trotters remained a goal behind as the two sides went in at the break.

SECOND HALF

Sash Bastien was introduced in goal at the break in place of Harry Campbell, while Callum Spooner joined the action soon after in what was an uneventful start to the second half.

However, a moment of magic from Elliott Durrell saw Tamworth double their lead just after the hour-mark as he flicked the ball over Niall Maher’s head with a clever back heel, before powerfully volleying between Bastien’s legs from close-range.

A fine acrobatic save from Bastien denied the Lambs a third soon after as he got back to his line to tip away a goalbound looping header.

At the other end, Wanderers were desperately unlucky not to halve the deficit as Thomas and Newell combined well to tee up Ceberio on the edge of the box, only for his dipping strike to be tipped over by Belshaw.

However, with the flow of the game interrupted by a flurry of further substitutions after the break, the Whites never looked like adding their own name to the scoresheet.

Tamworth compiled further misery on Bolton late on as another defensive mix-up allowed Ross Dyer to poke home when left unmarked at the far post to wrap up the scoring on what was a disappointing day for the young Whites.